Sunday, November 28, 2010

"Everybody needs love"

That is an illogically large hamburger


I witnessed an encouraging story tonight in small town Wyoming. I pray that this touches you as it touched me...

"It is a rare occasion in a small town for a large group of young folks to gather. The local coffee shop doubles as a local bar, and the aroma of the grease on the fryer makes the stomach yearn from miles away. Tonight was one of those nights where the young adults gathered from all walks of life to reminisce and catch up. Some returned from college. Others were relaxing by grace of military leave. Still others worked their hands to the bone day after day in the oil fields. Amongst these people, however, a string of memories remained.

In the other corner of the parlor was a Student and his Mentor. As the Student argued for his beliefs towards the world, the Mentor listened. When the Student was angry at a lack of sense, the Mentor listened. While the Student judged and criticized others, the Mentor continued to listen. In this continued listening and gentle rebuke, the Mentor showed his wisdom and further touched the life of the Student. It is in this open and loving ear that the Student was reminded of the love for others.

At the large assembly of old friends was much coffee and food. So much, in fact, that the tickets were muddled and jumbled and confused between the Waitress and her customers. As the congregation of acquaintances vacated the restaurant, the frustrated Waitress angrily singled out one for not paying for his food, and a heated argument was to be had between the Waitress and the Accused.

The Student at the other table could not help but overhear the conflict, as it was then brought to his table through mutual association the Student shared with the Accused. The Student cared very much for the Accused and the Waitress both. The Student decided that because the Mentor had loved him, he would love the Two. The Student took his own money and cancelled the debt of the Accused. The Waitress, who was very distressed through the quarrel, continued to be angry and continued shouting down the Accused.

After the Waitress had left, the Accused tried to repay the Student. The Student, however, had a different idea. This contagious love that the Mentor had shown the Student manifested itself in the care the Accused shared with the Student. The money instead became a large tip for the Waitress. And scribbled on that tip was this note... 'Remember, everybody needs love.'"

The love of one beautiful act, be it as simple as listening to another, is contagious. I pray that each of you learn, day by day, to love all you encounter. Everybody needs love.

With a tear in my eye,
Troy

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Being thankful today... and tomorrow... and the next...

I'm not as hungry now...


Being thankful for something requires only one prerequisite... The mind must be currently thinking about what there is to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for the people and things God has graced each of us with. During some internal dialogue (yes, I do in fact talk to myself. Wonderful habit, I suggest it to anyone!) in the course of my drive back home for the holidays, I came up with a list of what I was most thankful for. It was a wonderful thing for my mind to do!

Yet isn't it also really sad? I mean, honestly? I made a list for what I was thankful for because it is Thanksgiving this week. Because the US government tells me to set aside this particular Thursday each November, I thought about what I was thankful for.

Now imagine if I truly thought about what I was thankful for each and every day!?! Not only me, what if every single person thought about even just one thing every day that they were thankful for? May this Thanksgiving serve as a reminder to us all that turkey is tasty, family is fantastic, and (so as not to spoil the alliteration) being thankful is thoughtful. Think of others, thank God for others, and may your thankfulness be an offering of love to both Christ and all of those whom you love.

Happy Birthday Mr. Turkey,
Troy

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Once Salt, Now Mud



Eugene Peterson can hit a nail right on the head sometimes. Do I take his exact words to be Scripture? No. Do I totally dig his relevant and insightful paraphrasing of Scripture? Indubitably!

In James 3 we are given fair warning of the inherent power of the tongue. What screws up most relationships? The tongue. What praises God beyond godly works? The tongue. What curses folks? The tongue. This tiny muscle is powerful, yes, but it is also despicably duplicitous.

In his Message://Remix, Eugene Peterson updates the former "Can a salt spring produce fresh water?" illustration in James 3 with one that I find all the more humbling in thought:
"You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?" (The Message://Remix, James 3:12b)

The mud hole is me. Pure and simple. We are all instinctual mud holes. Jesus, however, invites us to become crystal clear springs in our daily walk. Will a spring occasionally produce some mud? Yes. If anybody claims to have it all figured out, they are just covering up their own mud hole. Know that none of us has it down 100%, and keep striving to give others the clear, refreshing life-water that is within each of you.

Kudos,
Troy

Sunday, November 21, 2010

3rd on the list, but it's THERE!



Tabloids make me chuckle sometimes. Health rags. Ridiculous news. Time Magazine and their usual mind-blowing covers. Peering at these in line at any local store lets my mind wander from the sometimes arduous imprisonment that is ONE register being open in a store with 24 REGISTERS!

I saw a health magazine tonight at the local Wal-Mart. I don't know how these ever catch my eye, as their covers are always the same. Diets, exercising tips, and individuals complaining about the fact that they are, in fact, larger than most modeling agencies' target clientele. But sometimes even my overly judgmental eye can tune in to the small print.

To quote this anomaly of all that is tabloid: "Become skinnier, sexier, and saner." Wait , wait, wait... Saner? Are my eyes deceiving me, or does this magazine care about something that is actually relevant to more than just physical appearance!?! Maybe some hope in tabloidism has implanted itself in my brain. That or I'm insane and need to give it a good read...

Probably insane,
Troy

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Kickin' it off!


A kudos! A new beginning! A celebration!

Warmest welcomes to "The Broken Bread," a blog about religion, non-religion, chai, hiking, food consumption, book reading, Transformers, the Way, and one man's (pithy? in my mind at least) observations on all that makes up life.

To share life with you all is of utmost importance to me! Please, feel free to comment, criticize, poke fun at, lambaste, converse, enjoy, and ultimately just dig your time here.

Here's to a beautiful thing!
Troy